


A Young Man Stands in his Bedroom

by GumbaMasta



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Character Death, Sadstuck, oblivion
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-17
Updated: 2020-10-17
Packaged: 2021-03-08 17:33:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 862
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27060511
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GumbaMasta/pseuds/GumbaMasta
Summary: John fought against Lord English and died. What will he do now?
Comments: 1
Kudos: 6





	A Young Man Stands in his Bedroom

You wake up to the smell of smoke. “Ugh,” you think to yourself. “Salamander’s burning down a house again.” But as you look out of your bedroom window you just see an empty street lined by houses not unlike your own. No salamander in sight.

John: Wait. That can’t be right…

You get out of bed. You are JOHN EGBERT and though it was 13 years ago that you were born it was only today that you have been given a…

John: No… it’s not my… I’m not thirteen anymore. I’m...

You take a deep breath. There’s that smell again but something else is mixed in. It makes your heart ache.

John: Pipe smoke? And cakes….

You open the door of your bedroom and the smell of freshly baked goods wafts in.  
You step into the hallway and every available space was crammed with fresh, delicious and moist cakes, their frosting glistening in the morning sun.

You look to your left and you see Jade, her chest pierced by a shard of paradox space, as she is flung off into the vast nothingness by the impact.

You breathe heavily as you make your way down the stairs, past more cakes and all the laughing harlequins and clowns adorning the wall. You almost trip and fall down the stairs. Thank god you have been sufficiently warned about them throughout your life.

You look to your right, to Rose. She reaches out to you, looking for guidance, anything, before she’s enveloped in bright light and not even ash remains of her.  
You feel lightheaded as you steady yourself on the couch. You stare at the Harlequin Doll sitting on it. You wince as you move on, a sharp pain coming from your abdomen.

Ahead you see Dave. He calls out to you, he pleads for your help. But before you can move he’s devoured in front of your eyes. You let your friends die. They depended on you and now they all are dead.

You slam hard into the kitchen door. Your hair is messy with sweat. Blood drips out of your wound and the blue of your shirt has turned into a deep dark red. You remember Lord English’s maw closing on you and how you barely escaped with Davepeta’s help, albeit with the Demon’s golden tooth still buried inside of you. How, even after Terezi pulled the fang from your wound, its poison coursed through your veins and burned you up until you were…

John: I’m… dead.

You push past the door and into the kitchen. You look at the man bent down, in front of the oven with his back turned to you. You always wondered how he managed to keep his tie and hat so clean while doing all the kitchen work.

John: Dad?

He stands up and turns around. A freshly baked cake in his hands, he looks at you, a gentle smile on his face. He puts down the cake on a free place on the kitchen counter and gestures to you to sit down. And as you do he seats himself opposite of you. He asks you how you’ve been since he had to leave. You tell him the stories of all your adventures, the long travel through paradox space together with Jade and Davesprite on a golden ship, meeting the Troll ghosts in their bubbles, how you saw your efforts come to a failure and how you ended up traveling through time and space to fix it all. Of all the friends you met and all the friends you’ve lost you tell him and finally how you died.

And throughout it all he quietly listens to you with a bittersweet expression.

But then a searing wave of pain makes you jolt.

J hn: No...I’m already dead. Why..is this happening?  
J hn: It feels like…  
J n: As if I’m losing myself

It seems that even in death you can’t escape from the Cherub’s poison. It will erase everything until the very idea of you will be wiped from existence.

Jn: Dad… I don’t think I have much time left.

You try to stand up and walk on your shaky legs. You take a step and almost fall over but two strong arms catch you. You hug him back. You grip tightly, afraid that he might disappear if you let go. He tells you that even if you lose yourself you might find something new. Maybe even something better.

Jn: And what if I just stay here until it’s over?  
Jn: What if I don’t want to find something new. What if I just want this until...  
Jn: What if I don’t want to lose you again?

He says he wouldn't blame you. After everything you had been through no one could deny you that last bit of happiness after all. He thinks you deserve more but you can always settle for less

Jn: ...  
Jn: And...if I do. If I find something. Will you still be here? Will I find you again?

That he does not know. But whatever will happen he wants you to know that…

_…_   
_I will always be_   
_proud of you_


End file.
